Speculation has been swirling around Halo 5 since a February 2011 news segment displayed an “Inside Halo 5” placeholder graphic long before Halo 4 was even announced. Though, it was no secret that development would continue on one of the biggest franchises in gaming history. Now just six months after the release of Halo 4, the gaming world is abuzz with Halo 5 rumors and gossip. With the recent unveiling of the Xbox One and E3 just around the corner, gamers can soon expect big announcements from 343 Industries on their next entry in the seminal franchise.

What Is Known about Halo 5 for XBox One

Official information on Halo 5 is lacking, but Gaming Illustrated has rounded up the bits and pieces trickled out over the years. Here is what’s known for sure:

Halo 5 is official and confirmed as the second entry in the Reclaimer Trilogy.

The game is currently under development. A supporting quote from Frank O’Connor (franchise development director at 343): “We’ve done as much prototyping and storytelling and the future arc of the universe as we have on technology.”

What Is Likely

There are still a lot of unknowns with the yet unannounced game, but here are some of the more likely things to happen:

Halo 5 will likely be an Xbox One exclusive and possibly one of the 15 exclusive titles mentioned to be released in the console’s first year on the market.

Per the Xbox One’s increased symbiosis with Kinect 2.0 it’s expected that Halo 5 will integrate Kinect functionality in some way.

Halo 5’s release date will probably align with the 2014 holiday season. This would mirror Halo 3’s (Nov. 2007) relationship with the Xbox 360 (Sep. 2006). It’s unlikely Halo 5 will be available by the 2013 holiday season with a typical development cycle of about three years between major Halo releases. A 2014 holiday release of Halo 5 would put the development cycle at a speedier two years, which could be a possibility if the game was in development concurrently with Halo 4.

The team at 343 plans to be “more adventurous” in the future while respecting the “pillars and …principles” at the heart of series. This likely means core gameplay will remain largely familiar to Halo veterans while new gameplay elements, environments and interactions (kinect?) should be expected.

The internet is rife with much rumor and speculation as to the nature of the next major entry in the Halo franchise. Any information that hasn’t come from official sources should be met with reasonable skepticism. Considering the unveiling of the Steven Spielberg produced Halo TV series and lack of Halo 5 news that came out of the Xbox One announcement, execs at Microsoft and 343 are expected to remain mostly mum on the game until E3 later this June. Until then, gamers will have to glean what they can from the limited data available to them online, or just be patient.

The big question is, what would you like or not like to see happen in Halo 5?

Joe Van Fossen

Joe Van Fossen is an avid gamer, film nerd, and unabashed gadget geek. When he's not playing games, watching movies or gadgeteering, he's writing about it (or he's off playing music in some seedy bar somewhere in L.A. or Orange County).

She was designed to only last a certain amount of time. And with Chief and her stuck in the ship for years went passed that amount of time. According to her she was going to learn herself to death. Her programme was tearing itself apart.

What I missed in Halo 4 was humor- the Grunts and their exclamations and statements really made the first trilogy a lot of fun. PLEASE bring that back. They can still be deadly en masse, but I want to hear them yell “Not Agaiiiiiiiiiin!” when I stick them with a plasma grenade. And I want The Arbiter back!

I support Kinect only if it does not change the Halo gameplay formula. I want to see emotion, a deeper plot and more character development like Halo 4 offered us. Bungie created the greatest franchise in gaming history (IMO), but I feel that 343 has something special to offer to the series. They have proven worthy of taking over with Halo 4, and with promise of only improving I have high hopes and all the faith in the 343 team. As a fan since the beginning, all I ask is for the heart and soul of 343 Industries to ooze from Halo 5 and others to come. I trust them.

Alas Halo 5! I cant wait to get my hands on this game, why isn’t a headset included in Xbox One? I’m kinda disappointed that Kinect doesn’t substitute for a chat headset. I would love to see more wide-open battle fields in this series, I guess I just have to wait and see. Thanks for the updates!